Sweet Memories
by evil123
Summary: Narcissa runs away from Lucius and Draco hoping to find herself and finally get the chance to be happy in life. What she actually found, was much better... but would it last? Or would her responsibilites catch up to her? Rating may go up later
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"We must leave, immediately," Lucius paced up and down the room.

"But… do you really think that's wise? The dark lord..." Narcissa whispered.

"He is already most displeased with me for having failed to get the prophecy. I have no wish to stay and be tortured. I have just come back from Azkaban, something like that could kill me right now. No, it's best to leave."

"He'll find us!"

"Not if we're careful. I have already taken measures to ensure our safety. Narcissa… we have no time to lose! Get the elf to pack, and then we must leave. Where is Draco?" Lucius demanded. _Of course,_ Narcissa thought bitterly. _He makes a decision and that's it. Unfortunately it's often the wrong one. And who pays the price? _A feeling rose up inside her, a feeling of rebellion against the man she had married. The man who was risking her life and his son's life to save his own skin. And she was so sick of putting up with all the risks… all the dark objects hidden everywhere. Narcissa closed her eyes. What could she do? There was one thing. But would she have the courage? She had to. For her son.

"I'll find him." She rushed off, calling for Draco.

"What now?" he asked, when she found him.

"Draco, we have to leave."

"Are we moving to a bigger castle?" he asked eagerly. She had to resist rolling her eyes. As much as she hated to say it, he was completely Lucius' son.

"No. Listen, your father wants to go into hiding. He fears for his life. I don't think it is a good idea to go with him. The Dark Lord will find him for sure, and then we will be killed as well," she grasped his shoulders and shook him hard. "Draco, come with me, we can go stay with one of my relatives, we'll be safe there…"

"You want me to just abandon dad?" Draco asked.  
"I know this is hard for you, but—"

"No you don't! You never understand!" _Here he goes again. Because his life is so horrible… not._

"Draco, we don't have much time! We have to pack!"

"I'm not leaving. I'm staying with dad," he said stubbornly. "I hate you, you never let me do anything cool."

"You'll be killed!" she hissed furiously. "You're coming with me and that's fin―"

"What's going on in here?" Lucius interrupted them. Draco shot Narcissa a hateful look.

"Tell you on the way. Where are we going to hide?" Draco said coolly.

Narcissa left them to their conversation. She walked into her room, trying to figure out what to bring. There were photographs of her wedding on the windowsill. She would definitely not take those. She looked into the photographs of her unsmiling self. When was the last time she had smiled? She couldn't even remember. Once upon a time she had been called pretty, but that had stopped around the time she stopped enjoying life… stopped laughing… stopped wearing anything other than the black dresses Lucius gave her every year for her birthday… it had stopped when she had stopped caring about her appearance… the marriage had really taken the life out of her. She remembered being in love, but it hadn't been with Lucius… ever. Theirs was an arranged marriage. She sighed and opened up her jewelry box. She would only be taking one thing from there. A silver necklace with a small diamond hanging off of it was pulled out of the box, and carefully clasped around her neck.

She wandered over to her wardrobe. Nothing to take from there. She couldn't believe she had so few dear possessions. And then she remembered. She opened up a small golden chest, hidden underneath the bed and protected by numerous spells. She took out her diary and a small photo album.

"Mom, hurry up or we'll leave without you!" Draco shouted from downstairs. "It didn't take _me_ long to decide what to bring and what not to!" _Of course. He's probably just going to bring everything. _She sighed. If only Draco had agreed to her plan… This was suicide. She looked out the window. If only… She stood up determinedly. Lucius had taken much from her, but he wasn't going to take her life! They weren't going to leave without her; she was going to leave without them! Putting her diary and the photo album safely into her bag, she held it tight to herself as she did what she had always wanted to try; she threw herself out the window and apparated in mid-air.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

She landed smoothly outside a small wooden house. She knocked on the door.

"Narcissa… didn't know I'd be finding you here…"

"Severus, it's a pleasure to see you again, as always."

"Unfortunately I'm afraid I can't say the same thing… What do you want?"

"Only a place to stay for a few days. I would go to my family, but as Lucius is currently, as I'm sure you've heard, on the run… and my parents would be very disappointed if they knew that I wasn't with him… you know how they are about priorities… a woman must stay at her husband's side at all times and all that… I thought maybe seeing as we used to be friends…?" Severus' eyes narrowed considerably.

"_Used to be_, Narcissa. Sadly, this is no longer the case. Goodbye," he said, shutting the door.

"Wait!" She shouted quickly. He paused. "I can give you… money!" He snorted.

"You obviously don't know me well if you think you can tempt me with a few galleons…" Narcissa opened her mouth to retaliate, but suddenly she heard a small giggle from behind him.

"Sevvie? Where have you gotten to, silly boy?" Narcissa had enough time to see a blond head appear in the hallway, before it disappeared back into a room.

"I understand," she said coldly. "You have… other business to attend to. Goodbye Severus, you _silly boy_." She turned on one heel and started to leave.

"Narcissa."

"Yes?"

"You can stay."

"If it's not too inconvenient of course…" she said sweetly.

"It is," he scowled, holding the door open for her. "Go to the left, I have to take care of something first." She smiled and stepped into the house. She turned to the left and ended up in what looked like the kitchen. There she waited, listening carefully to the heated conversation taking place in the other room.

"Pandora, you have to go now," she could hear Severus saying.

"Why?"

"This is a bad time."

"Is it because of the woman?" Pandora said shrilly.

"No," he lied.

"I'm sick of being your doormat... I can't just pick up and leave whenever you want me to!"

"Well now you won't have to be. I think we should stop seeing each other. This just isn't worth it," Severus said coldly.

"After all we've been through… and this is the end?"

"There was never a beginning… Honestly Pandora, you didn't think this was serious did you? We never even talked really…" Narcissa heard objects crash to the floor as Pandora aimed curse after curse at Severus. She couldn't help laughing as Severus carried a stunned Pandora out of the house. He came back soon after.

"Alright Narcissa, what is this all about? Lucius I mean," Severus asked, sitting down.

"Well, Lucius seems to think he's better off hiding from the Dark Lord, which, I'm sure you'll agree, is suicide. He's taken Draco with him, and I just don't want to lose my life over something I _know_ is a bad idea…"

"Fool. I told him not to hide. But why come here Narcissa? Surely you must have made several very good acquaintances while married to Lucius who would have been glad to let you stay with them…"

"All Lucius' friends," she dismissed. "You're pretty neutral Severus… Both Dumbledore's party and the Death Eaters trust you. I thought I'd be safe from both if I came here."

"You were sadly mistaken. I don't see how you could not know this, but Dumbledore is dead, and the Order of the Phoenix knows it's my fault. They're bound to come after me at some point," he sighed.

"I see. Do they know you live here?"

"No. Only Dumbledore knew, and I have already put as many anti-tracking spells as possible on this house."

"Then I think I'll stay," she said.

"How long is it you're staying exactly?"

"I don't know. Is it important? Do you have other plans?" He stood up abruptly.

"You show up uninvited, and use a friendship that hasn't existed for more than 17 years to fight your way in. You expect me to just drop everything and to look after you. Why don't you stay at a hotel I wonder? You plan to stay indefinitely. It's none of your business what plans I have or don't have! I want you out as soon as possible, you hear?" he shook her angrily. Taken aback, she stood up too, and took a step away from him.

"I'm sorry I caused this much trouble. Don't worry _Snape_, I won't be coming here any longer," she said quietly.

"Good." She started to walk away. She paused in the hallway.

"Severus," she whispered. "You know I had no control over what happened. If I did, you know what I would have chosen."

"That's where you're wrong," he said acidly, his eyes icy and fiery at the same time. "You did have a choice. You just picked the wrong option. Goodbye Narcissa, I won't be seeing you." He turned his back to her, and she had no choice but to walk out, and though he would never know, there were tears running down her face.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Narcissa sat down against the tree. She had nowhere left to go. Nowhere at all. She checked her bag and found out she hadn't brought any money. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid! She sighed. She had been so sure that Severus had forgotten about what had happened… it had been so long ago. Suddenly she found something hard poking out of her bag; her diary. She took it out, and flipped to the first page, set 17 years ago…

_Dear Diary,_

_Snape played another prank on me today. I got him back though, a really good jinx. Everyone started laughing, but inside I actually felt bad. He's not really that bad, just really annoying. No one really knows him since he's always reading that stupid book. I know a lot of girls who would want to know him though, for his looks. He'd be okay if he washed his hair more often! Anyway, I'm _certainly _not one of those girls!_

_Dear Diary,_

_Today something strange happened. We were celebrating in the common room, and everyone was getting pretty drunk. Severus kept refusing to drink anything other than water, and I guess Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle took it pretty personally 'cause they forced him. He was pretty resistant at first, but soon he started to really party! I felt bad for him again, so I led him to his dormitory. He would probably hate me in the morning for having helped him… but oh well. _

_"You should take it easy on the alcohol next time," I told him._

_"Why?" he asked, his head rolling._

_"Why? Because you could get hurt! You're not used to it," I answered._

_"Would you care?" he laughed harshly. _

_"Not really. You wouldn't care if I got hurt either though," I said reasonably, as he threw up._

_"Yes I would," he said at last. "I just wouldn't show it." I looked at him carefully, trying to figure out if he was joking or not. In the end I just said:_

_"Well that's not healthy, is it? I have to go now. Goodbye," and I started to leave. _

_"Don't go," he said, throwing up some more. I was so grossed out though, that I pretended I hadn't heard and left anyway. Wasn't that weird? _

_Dear Diary,_

_That idiot didn't even thank me today! I was so mad that in the end I just walked up to him and asked him:_

_"Aren't you going to thank me?"_

_"For what? You didn't do much. You carried me up the stairs and watched me throw up. You would have been a lot more help if you had stopped them forcing me to drink in the first place," he said, and turned away. The nerve! I, a Black, spoken to that way by Severus Snape, a nobody. I was so mad that as soon as he turned away, I cursed him, and he grew an extra finger (which I'm very proud of; the nurse said it would take a week to get rid of). Lucius Malfoy was being exceedingly annoying today too. _

_"Narcissa… I heard you helped little Snapy yesterday… went up to the dorm with him… will you come up with me too? I can help you in a different way…"_

_"Well there is one thing you could do for me…" I said, stepping closer so that we were REALLY close. "You could go away," I said, and then I slapped him. Bellatrix has liked him for ages though, and she jinxed me later… which hurt a lot. _

_Dear Diary,_

_As a punishment for cursing Snape, I had to go visit him at the hospital, and spend a whole day with him. It wasn't that bad though. It was a little awkward at first._

_"I'm sorry for giving you an extra finger," I said, unconvincingly. _

_"It's ok. I guess I was a bit of an idiot," he said. "Besides, I think it looks pretty cool!" I was amazed. Snape… accepting an apology so easily? _

_"So… what do you want to do?" We ended up playing exploding Snap, which was really fun. In the meanwhile, we were making fun of everyone we knew._

_"Have you seen his head? It's HUGE! No wonder Evans won't go out with him!" I laughed. "He deflated it the other day, but as soon as he wasn't looking I cast a spell to make it double the size it was before… it was hilarious!"_

_"Lucius Malfoy: he thinks way too much of himself," Severus said. _

_"Yeah, and Bellatrix is like his little puppy, following him around everywhere!"_

_"More like his little pig. She's not very pretty is she?" he laughed. We heard a bell ring and I looked at the time. A whole day had gone by, and I had hardly noticed. _

_"I better get going then," I said, looking up into his eyes for the first time. _

_"I guess so," he said. Neither of us moved though. I felt him edging closer, and I closed my eyes._

_"Time to go, Miss Black," the nurse interrupted. I left. I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't though. _

Narcissa closed the book with a snap. If only she had known then what she knew now…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Severus couldn't sleep. He couldn't shake the day's events from his mind. Had he done the right thing? He was furious with himself for not knowing the answer. He was always right about things. Always. Except now he didn't know what was right. He rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, a voice barked at him from the fireplace.

"Snape!" He got up tiredly and bent down.

"Lucius, it's a pleasure, as always…" he lied smoothly.

"I need your help," Malfoy said sharply.

"I'll be happy to help you in the morning," Severus got up slowly.

"_Please_," Lucius begged. "Don't go."

"Can't you get your wife to help you?" Severus said, enjoying ever minute of the torture and humiliation he was inflicting.

"She… She ran… She's busy right now. Severus, I need a place to stay for a few days. The Dark Lord has found my hiding place, and I cannot stay for long," he pleaded. Severus allowed himself a faint smile.

"I see. So you propose to stay here, so that when the Dark Lord does find you, which he undoubtedly will, we will both die?"

"Of course not! He won't find me. Please, Severus, you have no idea…"

"Actually I do. I'm sorry Lucius, but I can't keep you here."

"But what will I _do_?" Snape could tell he was close to whining now.

"Join the Order of the Phoenix," Severus suggested, starting to leave.

"They won't want me!"

"Do something bad and end up back in Azkaban," Severus said.

"That horrible place!"

"I'm afraid I can't help you then. This hiding idea was stupid to begin with, you should have known that!" Severus turned his back to the fire and headed towards his bed. He paused.

"Oh and Lucius? Next time try to contact me at a more convenient time than 3 am."

He lay down feeling very satisfied, and fell asleep right away. His dreams weren't dreams though, they were memories…

"_Narcissa!" he shouted, running after her. It was lunch time._

_"What?" she said coolly. Her friends giggled._

_"I was wondering if you wanted to sit with me today?" he said, unfazed. _

_"What makes you think that I would sit with you?" her friends laughed. He turned to go, his head hung with the humiliation that rejection often brings. "Oh, and Snape?" He turned around, hopeful._

_"Don't talk to me in public." _

_88_

"_Severus!" Narcissa shouted after him, as he made his way up the stairs to the dormitory. The common room was empty, as it was so late._

_"What?" he said coldly. "Talking to me again?"_

_"Don't be like that. You know I was only joking."_

_"Actually, I don't."_

_"Well now you do." He came back down the stairs._

_"It wasn't really funny to me," he said quietly. She seemed thoughtful for a moment._

_"Ok. I'll let you jinx me. And then we're even."_

_"Fine. But not now. I have to think of the perfect spell…" she started laughing, and after a while he joined in too._

_"Friends?" she asked, her tone serious._

_"No. Not yet. But not enemies," he said, ignoring the hurt look in her eyes. "The problem with you, Narcissa, is that you do things without thinking, and the consequences are never good."_

_"The problem with you, Severus, is that you have no life, and that is because you have no friends, and maybe you would if you stopped giving people the LOOK."_

_"What's the LOOK?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. She crossed her eyes._

_"The EVIL LOOK," she laughed. _

_"Nar?" he asked._

_"Don't call me that… ever. You can refer to me as "My Queen". Or else," she laughed again. He rolled his eyes._

_"You wish! Anyway… Did you mean that? I mean, about not talking to each other in public?" She quieted and didn't say anything for a long time. His heart raced._

_"You can talk to me in public. I guess. I'm tired now so I'm going to go to sleep, ok?" She got up and left. His heart sank. She was…embarrassed of him._

88

"I should have gone with mother," Draco muttered.

"What's that, Draco?" Lucius snapped.

"Nothing. I just don't see why we have to sleep in this pigsty, that's all."

"Do you have better ideas?" Lucius said, his temper rising.

"Yes. _I _could leave, and stay with Crabbe and Goyle, while you stay here. No point in both of us dying."

"Or you could shut your mouth," Lucius said angrily. Draco scowled.

"No wonder mother ran away. This plan was madness," he said, sulking.

"Well then why didn't you go with her? I'm sure she asked you, she cares for you so much," Lucius spat. "I don't see why though."

"As a matter of fact, she did ask me. I chose not to go, as I thought you'd need my help. I was right too!"

"She'll be back when she realizes she can't survive without me. She has no money anyway."

"She could always get it from Gringotts though," Draco said frowning.

"Shut up boy."

88

Narcissa got up, her back sore. She had to go somewhere. But where? She looked around her. She was still close to Severus'. She couldn't go there though. She wondered how Lucius and Draco were coping. Maybe she should have just gone with them.

"Narcissa!" she turned around, startled. It was Bellatrix.

"Narcissa," Bellatrix repeated, her eyes glinting. They had never gotten on very well, ever since school.

"That's me," Narcissa said, keeping her expression neutral.

"The Dark Lord wants me to search your mind, to see if you know where Lucius is hiding…" Narcissa gulped. Having Bellatrix going through her thoughts was not something she was going to enjoy, but if she didn't let her… She sighed.

"If it can't be helped, than go ahead." Bellatrix took out her wand, a gleeful expression on her face.

"Occlumens!" Memories flashed before her eyes…

_"Why don't people like Severus?" she asked her friend._

_"He's just… weird I guess. Different, ya know?" Narcissa didn't. She just couldn't understand how he had isolated himself from everyone else in their house. _

_"Well I think he's funny!" she said, defensively. _

_"You asked, I answered…" A scream interrupted them. They ran outside the common room to find Severus dangling in the air in front of James, Sirius, Remus and Peter._

_"Put him down!" Narcissa shouted. The other Slytherins glared at James' group, hating the way another Slytherin was being humiliated. _

_"Or what?" Sirius said coolly. "Going to tell on us?" He laughed._

_"You're dishonoring our family by doing this! Doesn't your name mean anything to you? At all?" she said angrily._

_"Does it look like it does?" he replied. _

_"It should," she said haughtily. "The noble house of Black—"_

_"Thanks, but I've heard it all," he said in a bored voice. "I just don't CARE." _

_"Cru—"_

_"Expelliarmus!" James shouted, and her wand flew out of her hand. The Slytherins had their wands out now, and the James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were greatly outnumbered. _

_"Don't move," Lucius hissed at Narcissa, as she turned to get her wand. "They'll curse you as soon as your back is turned. Accio wand!" Her wand flew towards them, and she grabbed it. Sirius let go of Severus, who fell to the ground._

_"This isn't over," James said, eyes flashing. The four left, and the Slytherins returned to what they had been doing. _

_"That was close!" Narcissa whispered to Severus._

_"I could have handled them on my own," he said, shrugging her off. "I didn't need your help. Now they're going to think I'm a wimp or something."_

_"You were outnumbered four to one!" she protested._

_"I could have handled it," he insisted._

_"If you say so."_

"Enough! You should have seen what you needed to by now!" Narcissa said, stopping the flow of images. Bellatrix smiled.

"Oh, I saw a lot more… Very well, until next time Narcissa," she said, her wand still raised.

"As long as next time isn't any time soon." Bellatrix's smile widened.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Narcissa's head was still spinning from the Occlumency as she made her way back home. She was going to check if there was anything there that she could sell, or at least the key to her Gringotts vault. She opened the door. Everything was ruined. Tables were turned over, precious objects lay smashed on the floor and important documents ripped.

"Benzil! Benzil!" she shrieked. A house-elf appeared from under a table.

"Mistress, I is here," he squeaked.

"Who did this?" she asked sharply. The elf's eyes widened fearfully.

"Big wizards!"

"Yes, I know, but who?" she said impatiently. The elf continued to squeak.

"Death! Death!"

"Death _Eaters_?" she asked, her voice softening. The elf nodded vigorously. She sighed. She went upstairs to her room to look for jewelry. The box was open but nothing had been taken. Relieved, she started to choose what she would sell.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," a voice surprised her. She turned around.

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with me," Narcissa told the figure.

"I don't. I'm here for business purposes," Severus said, his eyes narrowing.

"Oh? Which would be?"

"The Dark Lord is unconvinced by Bellatrix's findings. He believes that even though you don't know where Lucius is, you may have an idea of where he'd go… He gave me the unfortunate task of finding out," he said, settling himself comfortably in a chair.

"I don't know anything," she spat.

"Be that as it may, I can't leave without information. Does Lucius have any other habitations apart from this one?"

"No."

"Narcissa…" he said in a warning voice. "Do not tempt me."

"There's a farm in France. But he would never go there, it's dirty and disgusting. We never go there; he's been trying to sell it for ages."

"If he's desperate enough…"

"Lucius is never desperate. He's a stone wall, devoid of emotion."

"He's not the only one," Severus muttered. He looked up at her. "I think that will be all for now."

"Severus, please… I can't stay here, everything's ruined, can't I please… just for a few days…"

"You know the answer to that Narcissa. Don't look so shocked. You brought this onto yourself."

"But it was so long ago! It doesn't—" With a sweep of his robes, Severus had left, leaving her in the middle of her destroyed room. Where had it all gone wrong? She took out her diary and started to read again…

_Dear Diary, _

_Today something great happened! It was the end of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and so everyone was already putting away their books. Class ended and everyone left, leaving me behind. When I was finally ready, I left the classroom. _

_"Narcissa!" the call came from a deserted classroom. I thought it might be Severus, who had realized how stupid he was being, so I walked in. Instead I found Sirius, James and the rest of the idiots. Outnumbered, I tried to leave, but before I could…_

_"Expelliarmus!" My wand flew out of my hand, and then I heard the door close as someone locked it. _

_"Oh come on," I said, buying time. "You can't be so cowardly that you would fight me while I'm alone and outnumbered, far away from help!" I laughed nervously._

_"We're trying to spare you the public humiliation," James grinned. I tried to edge closer to my wand._

_"Stay where you are! Petrificus Totalus!" Sirius shouted, and I fell to the ground, paralyzed. I hate to say it, but I was getting really scared by this time. They crowded around me, laughing. _

_"Wonder what she would look like without all those expensive robes, eh?" Peter laughed._

_"Peter! Have you forgotten we're related? Not something I want to see!" Sirius protested. "Let's just jinx her and leave, while we have the chance!"_

_"Don't be a spoilsport Sirius," James was eyeing me now, and I could feel his stare burn into my skin. _

_"Prongs..." _

_"Ok, ok. Remus, you jinx her," James said._

_"This was your idea Sirius. You do it."_

_"We'll all do it, a different jinx each. Ready? On three," Sirius said, wand raised._

_"But how will we know we're doing different jinxes if we don't tell each other which we're doing?" Peter argued._

_"One," Sirius started. There was a scratching noise from the door._

_"Two," James continued. The scratching became louder._

_"Three!" The door slammed open, distracting them._

_"Accio wands!" Their wands flew towards the person at the door. It was Severus. He reversed the spell on me, and I got up, pushing past the four. Severus must have made a silent spell, because a moment later they were all lying on the floor, their faces disfigured. "I actually think they look better that way," he said. I couldn't help laughing._

_"Look, I'm sorry I acted that way before… But I guess we're even now; You helped me, I helped you."_

_"I could have handled it," I said jokingly. He put his arms around me and we hugged. When we separated, I realized I didn't want the moment to end. It felt so good being with him, in our moment of glory that I found myself reaching out to him again. He didn't pull away. We clung to each other for a long time, and then he gently pushed my head upwards a little. He bent down and hesitated for just a moment, but it didn't matter because the next thing I knew, our lips connected and I could feel his tongue searching my mouth. If we had been in a movie, I'm sure the room would have been spinning 360 degrees around us. Time froze, and I felt like I had lived my whole life to get to this moment._

Narcissa closed her eyes, thinking back to it. She suddenly didn't want to read ahead. Because she knew what was coming up next.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"You didn't expect this? Come now, Lucius… you didn't think you could hide forever, did you?" Around him, the rest of the Death Eaters started laughing.

"My friends… I wasn't hiding. I'm on a mission for the Dark Lord, which had to be done in complete secrecy. No doubt he would have told you eventually…" Bellatrix scowled.

"Do you take us for fools, Lucius?" she asked angrily.

"No, no of course not," he said hastily. "I was just saying that there are some things that the Dark Lord can only trust me with…"

"How dare you!" Bellatrix raised her wand furiously. "Cru—"

"Bellatrix, no!" Severus knocked her wand away. "He said not to hurt him! Control yourself!"

"But Severus, he's mocking—"

"You're letting him take advantage of your emotions! Fools wear their hearts on their sleeves!" Snape turned back to Lucius. "Where's your son?"

"I don't know," Lucius stated.

"Accio Draco's wand," Lestrange shouted. A wand flew towards them from behind a haystack.

"Come out, Draco," Snape shouted. Draco Malfoy came out slowly, whimpering.

"He kidnapped me… I tried to run away or to alert the Dark Lord but he stopped me!"

"Shut up little boy," Bellatrix giggled.

"But I—"

"Don't make me get my veritaserum," Snape said threateningly.

"What are we waiting for?" Lucius asked.

"You're waiting for me," an icy, merciless voice said from behind their backs. The Death Eaters fell to their knees.

"Get up! We don't have time for this. Lucius, Draco, come here." Lucius came forward unhesitatingly. Draco didn't move.

"Draco, come here!" Lucius shouted. Draco wasn't listening. He started to run as fast as he could, dodging spells as he went.

"Get him!" Bellatrix screamed. It was too late. He had apparated. And in the confusion, so had his father.

88

Severus threw himself onto his bed, exhausted. He had looked for Lucius for an hour, and after that he had been tortured by the Dark Lord. Not his idea of a good day. He got up and walked into a dark room. Then he reached out and pulled out a tendril of thought from his head, which he put in his pensieve. He closed his eyes. He was so tired. Suddenly he could see a memory beckoning him. He didn't want to touch it. He knew what it was. It seemed to dance before his eyes. He reached out tentatively. His hand brushed the liquid/gas and he was sucked into the memory unwillingly.

He found himself standing in front of himself and Narcissa. They were holding hands and laughing at some private joke. He sat down, and started to watch.

"Are you happy Narcissa?" Past Severus asked her quizzically.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She laughed.

"I don't know… but in case you aren't… I have a present for you," he smiled. She clapped her hands excitedly, and he gave her a quick kiss before handing over a small velvet box. She opened it and took out an elegant silver chain with a diamond dangling off of it.

"Oh Severus!" she gasped.

"I'm sorry. I know you're used to more expensive things but it was all I could manage…" Narcissa looked at Severus' shabby robes, and second-hand books. Her eyes watered.

"I love it. It's beautiful." She clasped it around her neck. "I won't ever take it off!" she said determinedly. He laughed. A shadow crossed over them as Lucius Malfoy came up to them.

"Sweetie, I would appreciate it if you don't kiss other guys when you're my wife. Bad for my reputation, you know," he walked off laughing.

"What's he talking about?" Severus asked Narcissa.

"Probably his idea of a joke," she said, dismissing it.

"Are you sure?"

Severus couldn't stand to watch any longer. He didn't want to see what happened next. Some things are best forgotten. He pulled himself out of the memory and crawled into bed. He put a sleeping charm on himself, and his eyelids started to droop…

88

"How did you find me?" Narcissa asked Lucius.

"The black robes. I put a tracking spell on all of them, just in case I needed you urgently," he sniggered. "Narcissa, my love, my life…" He pulled her towards him, kissing her neck. "I've missed you darling…" His hand wandered down her back. She pulled back abruptly.

"What is it you want, Lucius?" she said acidly. "I don't have money, and I don't have a place to stay… what could you possibly want?"

"I want you to come with me, a wife should be at her husband's side," he said, crossing his arms.

"Not me. I'm done with your stupid ideas… forever. I'm sick of being your trophy wife…"

"You're not just a trophy wife Narcissa," he said softly.

"Oh please," she laughed shrilly. "We both know the reason we married. And it wasn't for any deep feelings we had for each other."

"Narcissa, if I'm not mistaken, you had a choice in the matter too…"

"I don't quite recall…"

"No? Then let me refresh your memory," he grabbed her arm and took out a small time-turner. And before she knew it she was soaring backwards through time…

"Let go!" she shouted, when they arrived. "How dare you!"

"I have business to take care of. Meet back here in an hour or so?" Lucius left. She sighed.

"Narcissa, your parents are here to see you," a voice said behind her. She jumped, and saw her Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher talking to her past self. Narcissa ducked behind a stone pillar so she wouldn't be seen. She quickly cast an invisibility spell on herself.

"Where?" she could hear her past self saying.

"Office. Follow me," the teacher said, leading her to a small room, where she could already see her father tapping on the desk impatiently.

"Finally! Narcissa, my dear, darling daughter," her mother beamed, bending down to kiss her lightly on the forehead.

"Mother," Narcissa said stiffly. Her parents visiting usually meant bad news.

"We have great news for you," her father launched into a long speech about maintaining the family's honor and her "duties" as a member of the noble house of Black.

"You see, Narcissa, there are two types of people: purebloods, and—"

"Father, I know this, but what is it you want of me?" she interrupted him.

"Don't interrupt Narcissa, it's not fitting for an obedient wife," her mother cut in. Narcissa watched her past self figure out what her parents were getting to. She blinked to stop herself from crying. She wanted to shout at her past self to stop, to leave, run away before it was too late…

"Wife? Wait… Lucius said… You want me to marry Malfoy?" Past Narcissa widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Malfoy is a very noble name, Narcissa. You should be happy Lucius is considering you as a possible bride!" her father said.

"But mother, I can't possibly marry him! He's arrogant, vain, full of himself…"

"Don't be silly! How dare you insult him so? I do not like this new rebellious side of you Narcissa… what's gotten into you? Just think of the great life you'll lead with a man of his connections! Unless there's something you're not telling me…" Narcissa's mother looked at her questioningly.

"I… I think I might like someone else…"

"Does he like you back?"

"Yes, and he's pure-blooded." Narcissa's father's eyes brightened with interest.

"Crabbe or Goyle would suit you well too! They're not the most intelligent people in the world but…"

"It's not Crabbe or Goyle. It's Snape, Severus Snape," Narcissa said, slightly self-consciously. Her parents blinked at her disbelievingly, and then started laughing.

"Snape!" her mother said, spluttering. "And where do you propose to live? In a pigsty?"

"We really care about each other. Please mother, I love him…" Her parents' faces sobered. Her mother turned back to her father.

"Darling, do you think you could leave us for just two seconds?" Narcissa's father nodded and left the room.

"Narcissa, you don't understand. We _need_ you to marry Lucius."

"Why?"

"Narcissa," her mother whispered. "We're broke. We don't have any money left in Gringotts. We've tried selling some of our possessions, but there just doesn't seem to be enough desperate buyers at this point in time. Lucius is a wealthy man. He can take care of you. He can take care of us. Now, I won't force you into any marriage you don't want to be part of, but please, consider it. It's this family's only chance for survival. The choice is up to you… Narcissa, dear, don't make the wrong choice. You're our only hope," her mother's eyes watered, and she clasped Narcissa's hand.

Past Narcissa looked into her mother's eyes sadly.

"I love him," she said, closing her eyes. "I love him… but I can't abandon my family in times of need with a clear conscience… I love him…" tears fell quietly, and her mother tightened her hold on Narcissa's hand. Finally, Narcissa looked up.

"Forgive me, Severus," she whispered, her hand brushing against diamond necklace. She turned to her mother, determinedly. "Don't worry about anything, mother. I won't let you down."

Still invisible, Narcissa from the present banged her fists on the wall angrily. She resisted the temptation to scream. She looked at the time; it was time to go. She slipped out of the room as quietly as possible, and went back to meet Lucius, drops of blood falling from her fists as she went.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Severus woke up with a headache. He got up nonetheless, for he had much to do. He rubbed his eyes sleepily. The memory he had witnessed the night before had been short, but it still brought back painful feelings… He had loved her so much… she was his only one… angrily he searched inside himself for that familiar feeling of hate he had whenever he thought of Narcissa. He searched in vain, for he could find none. His hands curled up into fists and he punched everything that came within his grasp, aiming spells randomly. He remembered last time he had felt this angry… he remembered…

_"I had no choice, you have to understand…"_

_"I do understand. I understand you've tricked me all this time… I was so stupid, I believed you… Get out Narcissa, I never want to see you again!" he aimed a powerful curse at her and she ducked._

_"Severus, my family's broke. I have to do this," she pleaded._

_"Of course, I'd forgotten how much money meant to you. What did you do with the necklace, spit on it?" A second curse flew towards her. Her eyes filled with tears again as she jumped out of the way._

_"No, I didn't. How can you underestimate me this way? You know I love you, but I care about my family too… Sev, please!"_

_"Get out!" he screamed at her, now making objects zoom towards her._

_"Severus, I love—"_

_"SHUT UP! IF YOU LOVED ME YOU WOULD HAVE PICKED ME!"_

_"I can't abandon my family! And it's pretty unfair of you to ask it of me… what the hell would you do in my place?"_

_"Well I guess we'll never know, will we? Get out Narcissa, I'm warning you."_

Narcissa had left. Up till that week, it had been the last time he had seen her. The worst thing was that at that point in time he still hadn't known the worst…

_Severus walked down Diagon Alley. He had nothing now. Narcissa was gone, and so was his money, on that stupid, meaningless necklace, as meaningless as their relationship had been. No, a voice inside his head reasoned. It hadn't been meaningless. She was right. Her family was broke, and she couldn't abandon them. If marrying Lucius Malfoy was the only way to change that… then maybe he should just accept that. After all, he wasn't the only one losing something. She was losing something too. Him. They'd stay friends, Severus decided. It was only fair; after all they'd been through. No one could deny them each other's company. _

_"Would you like to buy a newspaper?" a small boy asked him._

_"Anything interesting?"_

_"Well… they've posted this year's list of the top 100 richest families… and there's a really good goblin story. Oh, and Hogwarts is looking for a Potions teacher for next year…" Severus thought about it. This was their seventh year… why not be a Potions teacher? It might be fun._

_"I'll take it," Severus handed the boy his money and then flipped the newspaper open. Something caught his eye. A headline._

_**"Malfoy: #1 richest family yet again!"** He looked at the long list of names. His heart started beating, really fast. It couldn't be! But it was. #2, Black. It had all been a lie to get rid of him. A lie, for more money… He threw the newspaper away in disgust, and with it, all positive feelings toward Narcissa and the not so Noble House of Black._

88

Narcissa pulled herself out of Lucius' strong hold as soon as they arrived back to the present. She didn't stay to listen to him, she just apparated to the tree outside Severus' house, where her belongings were. Soon she heard a crack, but instead of seeing Lucius as expected, she saw instead her mother.

"I thought you might be here, Narcissa," her mother said with distaste, eyeing Severus' small, almost broken down, wooden house.

"Nice to see you too," Narcissa said, with equal dislike.

"I have heard of your poor behavior, and I am not impressed Narcissa. I thought maybe if I gave you a day, or two, you would come to your senses and stay by your husband's side… I was mistaken," her mother conjured up a chair, and sat down comfortably.

"The only reason I ever stayed by his side was Draco… You know that. As I understand it, I gave Draco the choice, the possibility, of staying with me, but he refused. I wasn't going to lose my life over a stupid plan."

"Draco did." Narcissa froze.

"Is this some kind of cruel joke?" she asked.

"Hardly. Why would I joke about something like that?"

"Oh my god. Draco…" Narcissa's face scrunched up with guilt. What had she done? Was this the price she had to pay for her life?

"Yes. A sad loss, a fine young man, he was. Anyway, Narcissa, we have pressing matters to take care of. You have to give Lucius another heir, or the Malfoy line might die out, and since he's in difficult circumstances, you might want to hurry. I have made necessary arrangements for you to get together, and it should go—"

"No," it wasn't more than a whisper, but her mother stopped talking.

"Excuse me?"

"No!" Narcissa's voice was louder, clearer. "I stayed with Lucius for Draco. Because I _had _to. Now I'm free. FREE!" Narcissa shouted the last word, laughing manically.

"Narcissa, calm down. What's gotten into you! Really…"

"Mother, you know what the funny thing is? I thought I hated you. I really did! But now I realize that I don't! I don't care enough about you to hate you, I never did… You ruined my life, but now I might actually be able to fix it!"

"Don't be silly, what about Lucius?"

"What about him?" Narcissa said, her eyes flashing. "Anyways, I have much to do now, so farewell." Narcissa gathered up her few possessions. Her mother got up, grabbing one of Narcissa's hands.

"What did I do wrong? Narcissa please, give me a second chance, give Lucius a second chance! For the family's sake…"

"I have no family," Narcissa's voice was flat, and uninterested. "I'm sorry; I've already given up too much. I have wasted 17 years for you, and the Noble House of Black."

"What did I do wrong?" her mother wailed.

"Well for starters, you shouldn't have lied to me about our family being broke, just to get me to marry Lucius Malfoy."

"But I did tell you we weren't broke eventually!"

"After the wedding, when it was too late. And you never told him."

"Narcissa, it was for your own good, I couldn't let you marry that _nobody!_" Narcissa's eyes filled with fresh tears.

"But mother, he wasn't a _nobody_ to me! Thanks to you, he _hates_ me!"

"Don't you _see_ Narcissa? Just look at where you'd be living! You weren't brought up wanting that kind of life! You wouldn't make it through your first week! You were but a child. You couldn't make such a great decision…"

"You should have given me the choice! It is my life after all!"

"You would have picked the wrong option!" Her mother's words sounded familiar. Narcissa thought back. _The wrong option_. That's what Severus had said about her picking Lucius. So which _was _the right option? Severus didn't want her anymore, and a life with Lucius was definitely not for her. Maybe the right choice was neither? Fury rose up inside her. People were always telling her what to do… No one had consulted her about anything… even Severus had _never_ stopped to think about how _she_ had felt about the whole thing, he just assumed it was her choice. This wasn't her life, it was theirs. She had given it up for everyone but herself… and she was sick of the whole ordeal.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Severus looked out the window, shocked (this didn't happen often; he was generally quite a hard person to shock). He could see Narcissa and her mother, facing each other with wands raised and grim expressions. _This could be interesting_, he thought.

88

"I'm not doing anything you tell me to do!" Narcissa told her mother, heatedly. Her mother rolled her eyes. She muttered something under her breath, and sparks flew out of her wand. Moments later, Lucius arrived.

"Narcissa," Lucius said smoothly, walking towards her. He put a hand on her shoulder, as if to guide her somewhere. She flinched at his touch and pulled away sharply. She stood, back against the tree. She would take them both, if she had to.

"She won't listen to reason," her mother hissed. Lucius nodded and turned back to his wife.

"Narcissa, we can't stay here for long… You know how it is for me right now…" if he was nervous, he hid it well. Narcissa couldn't help admiring him, just a little.

"Then why don't you do me a favor, Lucius, and leave?" she smiled sweetly, but no one returned the smile.

"Let's not make this difficult," Lucius said dangerously. Narcissa laughed. What did she have left to lose? Her life? It wasn't worth much…

"We've played this game long enough. Narcissa, hold onto Lucius' arm, and we'll be off," her mother said, using what Narcissa knew to be her most persuasive tone.

"I won't leave," Narcissa said defiantly.

"I can't stay anywhere unprotected by magic for more than 5 minutes, or they'll track me!" Lucius' voice had a more agitated edge to it now.

"I'm staying right here!"

"Fine! Then I'll have to force you," Lucius stepped forward menacingly.

Narcissa strengthened her hold on her wand. She blinked slowly, and time seemed to stretch out in front of her. Lucius broke the silence first.

"Imp—" he was interrupted by a flash of red light.

"Lucius!" Bellatrix giggled. "You didn't think you'd _get away_ did you? Your son didn't…" The Death Eaters around her started laughing.

"B-b-bellatrix," Lucius stuttered. In spite of herself, Narcissa felt a small stab of humiliation for her husband. She had _never_ seen him this scared. "You won't kill me, will you? We were such good friends once upon a time… surely you wouldn't forget that?" Bellatrix's smile faltered for a second. Nott noticed and took over quickly.

"Old friends don't run away, Lucius… Besides… we certainly won't kill you. We're leaving that pleasure to someone who deserves it far more…," Nott's voice dropped to a whisper. "The Dark Lord." Lucius shivered. Suddenly, Bellatrix seemed to notice Narcissa, who still had her back to the tree.

"It seems we caught his accomplice too," she smirked. Narcissa didn't budge. She knew that this wasn't going to be easy. She silently begged Lucius to tell them the truth, to prove that their marriage had been built on more than family honor, as she seemed to think. He didn't speak up for her. Maybe it was his revenge… maybe he just didn't care. Either way, she knew she had to speak up for herself.

"I had nothing to do with him. He was trying to persuade me to join him, something I refused."

"A cute story… too bad I won't buy it… let's see… what should I do… which spell should I use to torture you with, before I kill you? The dark lord never left instructions on what I should do with _you_," Bellatrix smiled evilly.

"I swear it's the truth," Narcissa said, her heart falling slightly.

"Right," Bellatrix said skeptically. "It's all lies."

"She's telling the truth," a voice called from behind them. It was Severus Snape. Bellatrix lowered her wand slightly.

"Severus… how _nice_ of you to _finally_ join us. Been busy again, no doubt?" she sneered.

"I have been overseeing the situation from my house. I saw Narcissa refuse to go with Lucius, he was close to forcing her," Severus said calmly, ignoring the incredulous looks that were being exchanged.

"Do you have proof?" Crabbe barked. Severus sighed, as if he had expected such a question.

"I have a bottle of veritaserum in my house; I could go get it…?"

"Ye—"

"No!" Bellatrix shouted. "We have more pressing matters at hand. We can deal with _her_ later if we find out she is lying!" Around her, heads nodded vigorously.

"What if she runs away? I don't want to use up any more time looking for people…" one of the Death Eaters grumbled.

"We could leave her with someone," someone volunteered.

"Why doesn't Snape take her? He lives so close," Avery said finally.

"As long as we hurry… the dark lord doesn't like to be kept waiting…"

"I don't think that—" Severus began, but was cut off.

"Not like you do much else," Bellatrix snorted. "Right, leave Narcissa here, Goyle, have you got Lucius? Ok, let's go!" One by one, they apparated, until it was just Narcissa and Severus. Narcissa noticed that her mother had gone completely missing sometime during the scenario. _Typical_, she thought. Severus sighed.

"Let's go inside, it looks like it's going to rain." Narcissa remembered an old saying: _It always rains hardest on the people who deserve the sun._ She wished it wasn't so true.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Do you have any water? I'm so thirsty!" Narcissa asked Severus, once they were inside. Severus summoned water with a flick of his wand, and Narcissa took it from him and drank deeply.

"I'll be right back, just going to the bathroom. _Don't touch anything_," Severus said, as he left the room. Narcissa set her cup down and wandered around the room, her mind elsewhere. As she returned to where she had been standing before, her hand brushed the cup she had been drinking from, and it fell to the ground with a clash. Her foot, which had been in the process of taking a step forward, came down on one of the broken pieces, and she fell to the ground seconds later. Rubbing her wounded places, something shiny caught her eye. It was under the couch.

She reached for it and after much groping, she was finally able to bring it out into the light. It was a small album. She opened up to the first page and couldn't resist a smile. In the beginning there were just pictures of her, as she was in her first years of Hogwarts. She was laughing, surrounded by friends or family. She turned the page again. More pictures, but she was older, and she guessed they were taken in her fifth year. She got impatient, and turned the pages more quickly. Finally, she arrived at a page where there were solely pictures of her and Severus, as a couple, as well as just friends. She smiled, remembering different moments in time. She fingered the necklace around her neck. She turned the page and gasped. It was a picture of her and Severus, torn right down the middle so that they were separated. Her side was distorted and ugly, and she guessed a spell had been cast to make it look the way Severus had been thinking of her the day they broke up.

She turned the page again, not able to look at the picture any longer. Next was a small newspaper clipping. She read the headline: **_Malfoy: #1 richest family yet again! _**Underneath, a long list of names followed. She looked at the circled name, #2 on the list. It was hers. So that was how he found out. No wonder he hated her. She sighed, and flipped the page. There was a picture of her and Lucius, at their wedding. She flipped the page again. A picture of Draco, taken at Hogwarts. She felt a small pang of pain at the thought of his death.

"You always did like to snoop around other people's belongings," a voice said from behind her. She jumped.

"You scared me," she said, shivering.

"Sorry," he replied sarcastically.

"Severus, please, just listen to me, just this once…" Severus remained silent. Narcissa took it as a sign to go on. "I didn't know my family wasn't broke, honest… I didn't find out until after the wedding!"

"You could have gotten a divorce," Severus said quietly.

"I would have! Don't you think I wanted to?"

"What stopped you?" he interrupted briskly.

"By the time I found out, I was pregnant with Draco. I didn't want to be blamed for taking him away from his father, and he needed a mother. Besides, I wasn't sure you would take me back even if I left Lucius…" she paused for breath. "Don't you see, Severus? I was manipulated by my family…"

"So you're saying that you would have picked me over Lucius, given the choice, knowing that you'd be living in this place?" he gestured to the house distastefully.

"I've lived with money all my life. But the only time I was actually happy was when I was with you," she said softly. They looked at each other intently for a few minutes. Severus spoke first.

"Do… do you have it?" he croaked. She nodded, bringing out the necklace from underneath her dress so that it sparkled in the somber surroundings. Severus stepped closer to her and she stood up, setting the album down carefully.

"Severus," Narcissa whispered. He came closer. They were almost touching now.

"Narcissa," he replied, his voice dripping with emotion. "I—"

"Avada Kedavra!" a flash of green light barely missed him as he jumped out of the way. Standing in the doorway, with her wand raised, was Narcissa's mother. Narcissa simply stood there, not understanding how she could wish so much ill upon one person. Astounded that after all this time, her mother was _still_ trying to ruin her life.

"Petrificus totalus!" her mother shrieked, and Narcissa fell to the ground, powerless.

"Narcissa!" Severus shouted, ducking behind the couch as Narcissa's mother aimed spell after spell at him. Fury on Narcissa's behalf drove him onwards.

"Tantallegra!" he shouted. His spell was deflected and he ducked behind the couch as she sent another killing curse at her.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" he screamed at her, but she laughed as she dodged it with surprising speed. She was closer to Narcissa now and therefore closer to him too. Severus didn't know how many more of it he could take. He aimed a curse at her but nothing seemed to hit her. He suspected that an invisible barrier spell had been cast upon her. But who would do it? It required a blood relative to cast the spell, and it only lasted up to an hour. Which meant there was no way he could do this. Alone. He cast a silent spell to free Narcissa, and at the same time he had to throw himself behind a chair, as the couch was no longer existent. He could see Narcissa moving, slightly. She was free of the spell. But why wasn't she doing anything? He had no time to ponder this as the chair was destroyed too. He had nowhere left to go on that side of the room. _Hurry up, Narcissa! _ he thought, but Narcissa remained immobile. Narcissa's mother was standing about a meter away from him now, a smirk on her face. He was doomed.

"You have been really hard to deal with, Severus. Well, glad that will be over soon. And it won't be hard to get Narcissa to marry again, someone even richer than that idiotic Lucius. Goodbye, Snape!" she winked, and aimed her wand at his head. He tried to back away and found he was cornered.

"Avada—"

Narcissa threw herself at her mother, knocking her down to the floor and snatching away her wand.

"I don't think much of your style," Severus sniffed. Narcissa glowered.

"How else was I going to get her? She placed an invisible barrier spell on herself… obviously the only way to defeat her would be to hurt her physically," she reasoned.

"Charming," he said. "Now what do we do? We _still_ can't hurt her magically… do we just… keep her here?" Narcissa's mother coughed.

"You could let me go?" she said hopefully. Narcissa and Severus laughed.

"We're not _stupid_," Severus said.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have left the door wide open," Narcissa's mother said, scornfully.

"Shut up," Narcissa said threateningly.

"Narcissa, I'm your _mother_. Can you really do anything to me with a clear conscience?"

"I'm your daughter, but that didn't seem to make a difference to you when you _ruined my life_."

"Oh grow up," her mother said brusquely.

"Watch it," Severus growled. Suddenly there was another flash and Bellatrix walked into the room.

"Having a nice little get together?" she said, mockingly.

"Bella, quick, stop this nonsense. They're trying to kill me!" Narcissa's mother pleaded. Bellatrix's eyes narrowed.

"Actually, I was here to pick up _you_. You see, when the Dark Lord searched Lucius' mind, he found no evidence of Narcissa having helped him. On the other hand, he was able to find quite a few instances where _you_ helped him." She turned to Narcissa and Severus. "Do you have her wand?" They nodded.

"Excuse me then, I think it's time for me to go," she said smoothly. Grabbing hold of the old woman's arm, she gave them a mock salute and apparated out of the room.

Narcissa and Severus stood shyly next to each other.

"Severus?"

"Uh huh?"

"Do you think we can ever start over?"

"I don't know Narcissa. But we're sure as hell going to try," Severus said, looking out the window, where it had stopped raining. "After all, you have to put up with the rain to get the rainbow." And with that, he took her in his arms and they shared the best kiss of their lives, a kiss filled with sweet memories and the promise of a great future.

THE END


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